Author's Note: Thanks for checking out the story! A summary can only tell you so much, so I'm here to formally introduce you to a new character: Lex.

Ever since I started reading the Twilight series in middle school and, subsequently, discovering the world of fanfiction that went along with it, I was desperate to somehow place a character my own age into the series. You'll have to remember that I was in sixth grade at the time; Bella and Edward's world of love was simply beyond my ken. So I created Alexandra Leigh Swan, aka Lex, who was Bella's kind sister. She's three years younger than Bella, more outgoing but just as kind. I hope that through my writing you all come to love Lex as much as I have; even though I'm in college now I still can't let go of my fun-loving thirteen year-old alter ego that is now an integral part of the Twilight fanfiction that I continue to enjoy.

Bella's POV

Everywhere I was, I heard voices whispering.

That's her.

Her name is Bella.

She's from Arizona.

Then why is she so pale?

It was in the front office, at my locker, throughout all my classes thus far. I guess that the town of Forks, Washington, was so small that any new addition to the high school population was a topic for conversation. Every time I heard myself discussed by someone new, my familiar blush found its way into my cheeks.

I had pulled up to Forks High School at seven twenty five. The school itself wasn't imposing; what had thrown me off were the students in front of it. They had been pulling up in cars, standing in groups, shouting at friends across the parking lot. My school in Arizona had held a much larger student population, but I knew that everyone in Forks had probably known one another for their entire life.

I was coming in as an outsider.

"Um, hi," I greeted the lady behind the front desk nervously. "My name is Bella Swan . . . I'm new."

"Oh, yes, Bella Swan. We've been expecting you," she said, and I winced. "You're Phil Dwyer's daughter, right?"

"Yes," I said, trying my best to smile. I watched as she glanced at several papers scattered across her desk, moving coffee mugs and picture frames to get to a manila folder marked Bella Swan. As she read over the paper on top, her face took on a sympathetic expression.

"So sorry to hear about your parents, dear," she said, and I winced again. I was tired of all the pity. "Thank you," I said anyways, and accepted the stack of forms and my schedule. I turned to leave, desperate to be out of the office and the now gossiping ladies.

"Welcome to Forks High School!" she called as I was leaving. I forced a smile at her as I pushed open the door . . . and was promptly pushed into the bustling traffic of the hallway.

Now I sat in first period, trying to look as if I was engrossed in the list of required reading for the rest of the semester, even though I had read every book on here already. The Color Purple, The Catcher in the Rye, Don Quixote . . . At least I would already have my annotated copies.

As more and more students filed into the room, I could feel their eyes on the back of my neck as they tried to guess who I was, where I was from.

One brave girl found her way over to the desk I had chosen, and I was immediately reminded of a terrier – one of those little dogs that were always running around and yapping in high-pitched tones. "Hi! I'm Jessica Stanley," she introduced herself. "You're Bella, right? You totally have to sit at our lunch table. I can, like, introduce you to everybody. So, where're you from? Like, how did you end up in Forks? We're only, like, the smallest town in Washington." She gave a little laugh and then fixed her bright-eyed stare on me.

"I'm from Arizona," I answered, feeling awkward in sweater and boots next to her jean skirt and tight top. "I . . . just moved into my dad's house."

"Oh, do you mean Phil Dwyer? But I heard that his ex-wife . . ." Her face changed expression as she put two-and-two together.

"Miss Stanley, please take your seat," Mr. Mason, the English teacher, drawled. He coughed into his palm. "Alright, class, everybody sit. We'll be editing our papers today on the symbolism found in Shakespeare's play Macbeth. I hope that everybody finished the play over the weekend . . ."

After a boring first period, I moved on to Government, and then to Trigonometry, and Spanish – with Jessica, of course. At the end of the period she offered to walk with me to the cafeteria, and I couldn't exactly say no – I wasn't even sure how to get there.

Along the way, she chattered nonstop about the sports teams and various clubs and how I should "really try to get involved". "I'm, like, on the track team and cross-country, and it's, like, so much fun." I didn't bother to tell her that I had two left feet and almost no hand-eye coordination.

Once we arrived at the cafeteria, I wasn't surprised at the countless pairs of eyes that were unabashedly fixed on me. I only bought an apple before following Jessica to a lunch table right in the center of the cafeteria. Great.

I was introduced to vaguely familiar faces, but I didn't strain myself to try and commit their names to memory. Two other girls, Lauren and Angela, and three boys, Mike, Tyler, and Eric. I couldn't help but notice that Mike was staring at me with more than curiosity, and I felt the warmth spread through my cheeks.

Trying to distract myself, I twisted my apple stem and looked around the cafeteria, and my eyes zeroed in on a table in the corner. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I took in the five students sitting around it, not talking and not eating.

I nudged Jessica and nodded toward the table. "Who are they?" I asked, and was surprised when she rolled her eyes. "Oh, Bella's spotted the Cullens," she announced to our table, and there were a few laughs. I blushed again.

There were five of them, each one different yet unmistakably part of the group. One of the girls looked as though she could be on the cover of any men's magazine, with glossy blonde hair and a statuesque figure. The other was short and extremely thin, with dark cropped hair and pixie-like features.

There were three boys – one with an overly muscular build and dark, curly hair, the other tall, lean, and honey-blonde. However, the one who my eyes continued to dart back to was more boyish than the others, with untidy hair that could only be described as bronze-colored.

But all of their faces were somehow the same – beautiful, despite their pale complexions and dark, sleepless eyes. They didn't belong here, in this cafeteria full of plain high-school students. They belonged on the pages of magazines or paintings of the Divine.

"They're Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's kids," Jessica whispered, sidling in as though to get a better look. "They moved down here from Alaska about two years ago."

She used a carrot stick to point each one out individually. "The two blondes are Rosalie and Jasper Hale – they're twins and foster children. Rosalie's with Emmett, the big one, and Jasper's with Alice, the short one with the spiky hair. And the last one's Edward." She said his name like a prayer . . . or a curse. "Those last three are adopted, by the way."

"Oh," I said faintly, and went back to twisting my apple stem. I could tell that everyone, Mike in particular, had noticed my interest, so I self-consciously pulled out my phone.

How's your first day going? I texted Lex, realizing guiltily that this was the first time that I had checked in all day. Though Lex was constantly telling me that she didn't want me to "treat her like a baby", I couldn't help but be overprotective ever since Mom and Charlie passed away. I was seventeen and more than capable of taking care of myself, but Lex was only fourteen. A very mature fourteen, but fourteen nonetheless.

My phone buzzed. As you'd expect, she had said. I sat in the football captain's seat in first period. Only me. I smiled and texted back, Hang in there. I'll be picking you up before you know it.

I put my phone away and tried to focus on the conversation going on at the lunch table, which was centered around a dance that was coming up. Yet from time to time I would find myself looking at them. Forty-five minutes passed all too quickly, though, and I watched them all rise gracefully from their seats and make their way out of the cafeteria. The mass of students parted for them, like the Cullens were Moses and they were the Red Sea.

Angela and I had Biology II together, and she seemed almost . . . apologetic as we walked to class. When we arrived, I realized why.

The only vacant seat was next to Edward Cullen.